Jerry Pritikin has been to “well over a thousand” Cubs games in his life, he figures.

So of course Pritikin was there again Thursday morning outside Wrigley Field, where he has become famous over the years as the “Bleacher Preacher,” for the Cubs’ season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

He had plenty of company, as fans sporting blue and red flooded Wrigleyville hours before the first pitch.

To the 86-year-old Pritikin, it’s always a welcome sight.

“To me the most beautiful thing, next to the Grand Canyon, was coming into this ballpark, especially from Clark and Addison and seeing the big scoreboard. It was majestic,” said Pritikin, in his trademark propeller hat, reminiscing about his decades as a Cubs fan.

Pritikin — once dubbed the world’s number-one Cubs fan by longtime announcer Harry Caray — said his baseball obsession began at 8 years old, when his dad gave him a baseball “crash course.” He and his brother would help clean the ballpark after games to score tickets to the next day’s game.

Anna Kawkas, a lifelong fan from west suburban Franklin Park, said her dad grew up doing the same.

“Some of my first memories are at the ballpark with my dad,” Kawkas, 28, said. “He passed away about nine years ago, so my brother and I ... we’ve been continuing on his tradition.”

For fans like Kawkas, Cubs games are a family affair. Jon Lake said he has been coming to Cubs games with family for 40 years. Now, he and his wife Jenn bring their 8-year-old daughter Emma to games.

Emma’s favorite part of a Cubs game? “Everything!” she said.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The Lakes were among the fans who lined up to secure general admission spots in the bleachers Thursday, arriving before 10:30 a.m. — with dozens of people already ahead of them.

Kevin Conley, a social studies teacher from Kentucky, was at the front of one of the lines for the bleachers. He’d been waiting since around 9:30 a.m. Though Conley isn’t from Chicago, he said he’s been a fan of the Cubs for decades.

“We had WGN in our hometown,” Conley said. “Every day when I would get home from school, the game would start. ... I just watched it and got hooked.”

Other out-of-towners came to support the Brewers. Patricia and Shovana Rydeen flew in from Minneapolis for the game. The mother-daughter duo of baseball super-fans said they have lost track of how many games they’ve attended together.

Both said they thought the atmosphere at Wrigley was unique. Patricia Rydeen said she felt welcome, even as a Brewers fan.

“We’ve been to a lot of ballparks together, and this one is different,” Patricia Rydeen said. “After the game here, the party doesn’t end.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times